The anti-soccer haters here in Santa Ana are actually very few in number – but like noisy chihuahuas they are a pain in the rear – and the media has been paying attention to them, even though they hardly represent the overall population of Santa Ana.
Now they have even started a very lame little blog, using antiquated Blogspot software – and they have even infected the Washington Square Neighborhood. The good news is that now we can go about debunking their silly arguments.
Here are the half-truths and exaggerations that these folks are passing along as if they were facts (my answers follow each of their allegations):
Bogus Reasons to oppose professional sports in Santa Ana
1. Puts property values at risk. With constant noise (announcer, crowds,vuvuzalas and fireworks), parking hassles, potentially rowdy post-game crowds; potential new families will think twice before moving to neighborhoods surrounding a potential professional stadium site. (Editor: We already debunked the silly arguments about noise – I visited a Chivas USA game in June of this year and guess what? It was filled with decent families having a good time – no trash, no noise – no rowdy crowds at all. Click here to see the post I wrote and the pictures I took at the game. And did you know that the Washington Square Neighborhood Association – which is full of soccer-haters, gets drunk in public every year? Click here for pictorial proof and see the pictures below of the soccer-haters drinking in public, including the head of the soccer-hating movement).
Danger – Drinking in public!
2. Costs to taxpayers (You & I) in the millions. MLS estimates the cost to construct a stadium at $300 Million. Where is this cash-strapped city going to find that kind of money? Name sponsorships won’t generate that kind of cash. And once built, who covers operating expenses of such a huge enterprise? Us? Really? (Editor: This is hilarious! These folks had no problem when the city spent millions of dollars on the Artists Village – in fact many of these soccer-haters were involved in that effort. They also looked the other way every time the city forked hundreds of thousands of dollars over to the Bowers Museum and the Santa Ana Zoo, and gave free land to the Discovery Science Center. And guess what – the City of Santa Ana spends over a hundred thousand a year funding the Neighborhood Associations that are chock full of soccer-haters! Most of that gets wasted on their Com Link organization – where these people even get fed. Now suddenly they have become fiscal conservatives? What a joke! The fact is, a project like this could be partially funded by private organizations and by issuing bonds. And the stadium would be a money-maker from day one.)
Danger – Drinking in public! Rowdy behavior!
3. Hurts local sports. Only Chivas USA will have access to the Eddie West Stadium, no one else. The season is eight months long. That means every program in Santa Ana will have no venue. None. There are no alternatives. (Editor: Again, hilarious – and totally untrue. How many games do the Chivas USA play in the entire year? Only 18 home games! And four of those games are mid-week, in the evening! Most of the time they play either on a Saturday or a Sunday, leaving the venue available for the rest of each week and weekend. And they play NO GAMES from October 23 through March 18. Click here to see their full schedule. Only 18 games! What a joke!)
Danger – Drinking in public! Do they have a license to serve this booze in public?
4. Creates traffic and the need for traffic enforcement. Along with traffic comes pollution and more cars mean more enforcement (police officers, cars, dogs, motorcycles and helicopter) are needed. In addition parking mitigation MUST be strictly monitored or our streets will be event parking. In fact based on the number of spaces available (2040) and the average crowd (14000), cars need to average 7 persons per vehicle to be accommodated in existing parking and that leaves no parking for employees or city workers. (Editor: When I visited the Chivas USA game in June I did not see any traffic issues. NONE. We have plenty of parking in downtown Santa Ana – and the fact that the soccer-haters are not sharing with us is that many folks in Santa Ana will be able to walk or take the bus to Chivas games. And why are we worried about city workers when the games are on Saturdays and Sundays or on Wednesday nights? What city workers are working then? Stupid, lame argument!)
Danger! Noisy public drinking!
5. No due diligence. There are (1) no independent professional impact studies and no environmental impact reports nor have there been any public hearings–all are egregious, deplorable, possibly criminal oversights. (Editor: Ridiculous! If any of this does come to fruition it will have to go through the Planning Commission, with public hearings, then through the City Council, with more public hearings. Why would they have such hearings now when there is no deal?)
You see? None of the arguments posed by the hysterical soccer-hating Usual Suspects even make any sense! Perhaps they have been drinking too much on their Wine Walks!
Danger! Public drinking and TRASH!
Most cities would welcome a pro sports team with open arms – but not these irrational NIMBYs. I suggest you ignore them. They have no say in our city and should move out if they are this distressed over something that most likely isn’t even going to happen…
Note to those who don’t know the history of Santa Ana. These are the same folks who erected traffic barriers in French Park to keep the Mexicans out. The ACLU sued and they lost and had to take down the barriers. These folks controlled city hall and made life hard for Latinos for over twenty years. Thank God they are finally out of power!
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"spent millions of dollars on the artists village"? As far as the Santora goes, maybe on Memphis restaurant, but sure as heck not on the rest of the building. Mr. P, I don't recognize those faces, so please don't associate them with our artists village. Elitist abstract and insincere art should always be regarded as inferior to politically and culturally relevant art! New Santa Ana = Relevant Modern Art! heee heee. get it? Don Cribb can kiss New Santa Ana Art!
Correction, that's relevant Post-Modern Art for all you art snots.
I think it is quite unfair to generalize the views of a few Washington Square residents to all residents. Washington Square is a fabulous neighborhood and if they want to have a wine walk to promote the neighborhood more power to them. I used to live there and I know many of the people in the photos, it looked like they were having a great time. The photos of the wine walk are completely irrelevant.
tmare,
Obviously you have not read the latest Washington Square newsletter - which was a full-on anti-soccer screed. Click here to read it: https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment?ui=2&ik=a364383469&view=att&th=13152d8d700c088a&attid=0.1&disp=inline&safe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P8D0DQLvV0OTCQahMisM8Sx&sadet=1311386472658&sads=RQDNLDLgmxJUYQHIQYVh4IGPK-0.
These people are spreading absolute lies about the proposed Chivas deal - which we have clearly debunked. The fact is - they are the ones drinking alcohol in public and making noise. Bunch of elitist hypocrites.
You are out of your element- I have lived in washington square for the past few years- and there is truth to their worries. Why should hard working people pick up and leave because you want a professional sports team to move into your neck of the woods. Have you walked around their neighborhood? People pick up trash not in front of their own houses- they smile and wave at their neighbors. I have pride living there. I looked at homes in other areas of Santa Ana and found most neighborhoods to be unkepmt and littered with trash even without a sports team moving in. Is it really so terrible that they try to hold on to keep their little slice of a good and decent neighborhood clean and safe. And really- bringing up the wine walk? I have never been because I have little ones at home- but that is just pathetic. Find something better to voice your opinion about rather than ridiculing people that actually want to be proud and active of where they live.
Did you just wake up from a long hibernation? The stadium deal died awhile ago. And why is it a code violation for Mexicans to drink beer on their porch but it's okay for me your white neighbors to get drunk on wine while stumbling around your neighborhood?
Yes, I have read the most recent Washington Square newsletter and I still don't think you can apply those feelings to all residents of Washington Square.
If something were published in my neighborhood newsletter, I certainly wouldn't attribute the view of the articles as the beliefs of my entire neighborhood. Once again, I lived in Washington Square and the particular street that Tom Lutz lives on gets an awful lot of traffic on the days that there are games at Eddie West. There is already permit parking but that doesn't stop the people attending events there from parking all up and down that narrow street. It even appears as though some counterfeit parking passes have been printed. I have a good friend who lives very on that street. I can understand the NIMBY attitude when you are a stone's throw from the field. However, there reasons aren't really justified, they are just excuses to keep the crowds away from their neighborhood and I understand that. Unfortunately, they live on the wrong side of 17th street and there isn't much they can do about the encroachment of their neighborhood, it will get worse but they will keep fighting anyway. I don't really see it as a racist thing, it is a protection of neighborhood thing.
tmare,
Of course is is absurd - but it is equally ridiculous for the President of the Washington Square Neighborhood, and the other soccer haters, to cast aspersions on all Santa Ana soccer fans. These fans are no more likely to do the horrible things that the soccer haters are accusing them of than the wine lovers in Washington Square. You see I simply gave them a taste of their own medicine - and they didn't like it.
These soccer haters are making awful accusations and expecting to get away with it. Well, they won't if I have anything to say about it.
Regarding "FACT #2": Consider the source!
“These people are spreading absolute lies about the proposed Chivas deal – “
How can that be? The city has decided to keep all aspects of any and all meeting about any deal secret. So there isn’t a way to determine “absolute lies “ by the city or the neighborhood people.
Even your own proof, of the city spending millions of dollars on questionable real estate deal, and backing money loosing deals that only seem to benefit friends and developers, begs the question, Who does the city management work for? And who does the city council represent?
Silly cook. Those old deals happened under Dave Ream and under Councils that were mostly white and mostly Republican. Those days are over now. The Council finally represents the majority of residents in Santa Ana. That is a good thing.
You may be on to something there, Ream did come up though the ranks in the community development side, the real estate dealing with outside developers etc.
And now the city head is from the Law enforcement side. Hope he can clean things up a bit before a new guy or gal is appointed.
Hope the parks and rec guy is one of the choices, the city residents could use and city leader who came up in the ranks from the parks and citizen benefits side.
Now like you said, the old guard is gone, and their old "bedevilment" plans need to go with them, especially this golf course and Eddie West field hold over from the past.
The best place for a sports entertainment complex in Santa Ana, would be next to the train station just like Anaheim’s.
Boy,
This fight has made for strangebedfellows (not literally!), the USUAL SUSPECTS, made up of largely white repuglicans, who hate gays, democrats, and mexicans with nearly the same vengence have teamed with the OC's self proclaimed liberal bloggers!!
Weren't the usual suspects part of the group that UBER liberal Kim Gerda and the ACLU fought to remove the barriers in French Park?
Weren't the usual suspects leading the charge against Hermandad Mexicana, the GOTV effort aimed at Latinos?
So why would the LOC team up with the Usual Suspects, if they weren't chasing a ghost?
Or maybe they are living up to thier moniker:
"CHANNELING OC'S RIGHT WING NOISE MACHINE"
I agree that their arguments are really baseless, and not timely, since there is no proposal yet, but you again stooped childish accusations and rebuttals. "See the pictures below of the soccer-haters drinking in public, including the head of the soccer-hating movement)" - you made your points, then headed straight towards elementary school. At least show some class when you make a logical argument!
ocgrrl,
It is an old trick really. You take your opponent's argument and turn it back on them. Of course it is absurd to believe that these little old ladies are a public threat - it is just as absurd as saying that all Latino soccer fans are hooligans. Point made. Extreme? Well sure, but this has been our number one post since it came out. Mission accomplished.